<p><strong>Childhood and Background<br /> </strong>Carl Sophus Dinesen was born on July 18, 1863, at Store Mørkegård (Toftholm), the son of gamekeeper <a href="https://kragerup.dk/en/historie/marius-jacob-neergaard-dinesen/">Marius Jacob Neergaard Dinesen</a> and Ida Cathrine van Deurs.</p> <p><strong>Military Career and Honors<br /> </strong>He became a second lieutenant in the Life Guard in 1881 and was awarded the Russian Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class, in 1885. The order was an imperial Russian decoration that was often awarded to Danish officers and diplomats due to the very close diplomatic, family, and military ties between Denmark and the Russian Empire in the 1800s and early 1900s. From 1886 to 1894, Carl Sophus served in the Gendarmerie Corps. </p> <p><strong>Marriage and Family<br /> </strong>On September 9, 1891, he married Ebba Schøller, daughter of Court Master of the Hunt Christian Emil August Schøller and Henriette Elisabeth Christine Mechlenburg. Together they had three sons: Bengt Sophus Dinesen (1894–1973), Carl Ebbe Eiler Dinesen (1897–1974), and Carl Ebbe Dinesen (1899–1974). </p> <p><strong>Death and Legacy</strong><br /> Carl Sophus Dinesen fell ill and died on March 3, 1899, in Vordingborg, at the age of just 35. His three sons were still young, and the eldest, Bengt, was only five years old. Since Carl Sophus died so young, there was no painted portrait of him, only a photograph. </p> <p><strong>The Creation of the Portrait<br /> </strong>As an adult, Bengt Sophus Dinesen was troubled by the fact that there was no portrait of his father, and so in 1928 he commissioned a portrait based on the existing photograph, using funds from the entailed estate <a href="https://kragerup.dk/en/historie/jens-kraft-jacob-sophus-dinesen/">of Jens Kraft Sophus Dinesen</a> (1830–1910).</p> <p><strong>The Portrait’s Journey<br /> </strong>For many years, the portrait hung in the home of Bengt Sophus Dinesen, and after his death, it was brought to Lerbæk Manor by his son, Jens Kraft Dinesen (1922–2003). In 2025, the portrait was transferred to Kragerup Gods. </p> <p><strong>Identification of the portrait</strong>* <strong><br /> * On the back of the portrait is only the handwritten inscription “Dinesen,” and during the process of identifying the portrait, the Russian Order of St. Stanislaus, which Carl Sophus Dinesen wears in the painting, proved decisive. Together with information provided by Ebbe Dinesen (1947–), Carl Sophus Dinesen’s grandson through his son Carl Ebbe Eiler Dinesen, it was confirmed that the portrait depicts Carl Sophus Dinesen. Thus, both the story of the man and the portrait’s journey have been preserved for future generations.</strong> </p>